Network of national election management bodies officially launched

A network of national election management bodies from across the 54-member Commonwealth has been officially launched. The aim of this network is to increase collaboration and thereby boost the standards of these institutions, all of which play a significant role in strengthening the culture of democracy in their respective countries.

The network was launched at the end of a three-day meeting in Ghana’s capital, Accra, from 19 to 21 May. It was hosted by the Electoral Commission of Ghana and convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat, which is fundamentally committed to supporting democracy, democratic processes and institutions among member states.

At the meeting Heads of these election management bodies agreed to meet every two years to review progress of the network and lay out innovative strategies for continuing to keep up with what they referred to as the ‘Commonwealth golden standard’.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma touched down in Accra on Thursday night following an official visit to Cameroon. The following morning he met with Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, whom he briefed on the Commonwealth’s work on electoral management bodies, as well as progress on implementing other mandates from the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which took place in Trinidad & Tobago last November.

These include the Partnership Platform Portal (also referred to as CP3), the reform of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (also known as CMAG) and the Secretariat’s environmental good offices work.

- CP3 is an online one-stop shop, which will provide a wealth of information which can be accessed by anyone across the world. This information aims to plug the gap in knowledge that is unavailable in one place on a number of important topics. The so-called ‘Partnership Platform Portal’ will be used by anyone from a farmer looking for a partner in another Commonwealth country to help extend his or her business, to an entrepreneur wishing to explore different renewable energy options.

- The Secretariat’s environmental good offices work involves Commonwealth experts working to help small and vulnerable states navigate the myriad environmental agreements to access the technologies and funding they need to address climate change and its impact on the most vulnerable.

- CMAG, which was set up in 1995, is a group of rotating foreign ministers that addresses serious or persistent violations of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values. They can suspend, or recommend to Commonwealth leaders that a member country be expelled for consistently flouting these values. Efforts are now being made to strengthen this group after Commonwealth leaders endorsed a move by CMAG to determine - in consultation with the wider membership - how it could be made more effective, so that it can work, for example, to pre-empt coups, not come into operation only after they have occurred.

During his official visit to Ghana, Mr Sharma also paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, whom is the current chair of CMAG.

He arrived in Ghana from Cameroon, where he made an official visit 17 to 19 May and attended the 50th Independence anniversary celebrations there. He also spoke at the closing session of the Accra conference. Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba was one of the keynote speakers at the Inaugural session, which was also attended by the Vice-President of Ghana.

Background

A representative group of senior election officials from the Commonwealth met at the Secretariat’s headquarters at Marlborough House, London in September 2009 to consider the initiative and agreed that creation of the Network would be of tangible benefit to national election management bodies in the Commonwealth, enabling them to achieve the highest possible standards. The proposal was subsequently endorsed by Commonwealth Heads of Government, meeting at Port of Spain in November.

Key Links:

• Democracy and Consensus Building
• Country Profile: Ghana